Ryan McNeil
Fair Warning: This review will be difficult for me to write without letting my biases show. I’m a believer in rock & roll. I’m a follower of Martin Scorsese. And I’m deeply devoted to the Gospel according to Charlie, Ronnie, Keith, and Mick. However, I will try to set all of that aside, and give an honest account of SHINE A LIGHT. Light a candle for me…say a prayer…this will be tough.
The movie, presented in IMAX, is a concert doc of a show The Rolling Stones performed in 2006 at The Beacon Theatre in New York City, an intimate room that seats a little more than 3,000. As it was being planned, Martin Scorsese was approached with the idea to film it.
While that all looks very simple, you must consider two factors. the first is Scorsese’s attention to detail. When planning to film a live show, he printed out large charts for the songs. One side of the page is broken up into lyrics and instrumental breaks, the other side is a litany of cues and directions planned down to the beat and note. Page after page for every conceivable song in the setlist. That leads us to the second factor – the fact that with over 45 years worth of material to draw from, a Rolling Stones setlist is never the same twice…and often a difficult mix to make. So difficult in fact, that Scorsese himself didn’t get a copy until mere moments before the band went on stage
The IMAX screen and sound enhances the whole experience by immersing the audience in the show. Instruments are mixed through every channel, as is the audience’s cheers – an effect which was used so well, that there were a few moments where I thought the audience in the theatre was doing the cheering. The camerawork is gorgeous, framing the musicians rather poetically on more than one occasion. (While I feel it’s too easy a joke, feel free to make one here about how rockers over the age of sixty really shouldn’t be seen on an IMAX screen).
For my money, the concert boils down to one song – “Champagne & Reefer” which the band performs with Buddy Guy. The song is dirty, grinding, and tough. It features a duel of two of the best blues guitarists of all time…and just for good measure, gives Mick Jagger a flex his own muscles on the blues harp. Upping the ante on the memorable music, is the gorgeous photography. From the well staggered shot featuring Guy, Richards, and Ronnie Wood all playing at once…to the amazing close-ups of Buddy’s nonchalant face while he sings…to the perfectly caught moment of Richards spitting out a cigarette complete with a cloud of ashes & sparks. Quite simply, the song is nothing short of musical and film precision
While I’m sure I’ve gushed my way to the contrary, the film isn’t perfect. For starters, the movie abandons any original documentary moments once the songs start, deciding instead to occasionally cut in some archival interview footage. Given the madness that staging and filming this event must have been, to say nothing what sorts of questions Scorsese could have posed, I really wish the doc quotient could have been higher
The other problem I have is with the songs presented. Rolling Stones concerts always end by leaning on the big six songs…the ones that everyone will sing along with (“Satisfaction”, “Jumping Jack Flash”, “Honky Tonk Woman”, “Start Me Up”, “Brown Sugar” and “It’s Only Rock & Roll”). Four of these songs make the cut in SHINE A LIGHT. My problem with that is two-fold. After all the back and forth that we get off the top about creating the setlist, it feels false if the question was really “What ten songs will we play before we get to these six?”. To say nothing that rarities like “Far Away Eyes” and “Some Girls” end up feeling like the opening act to the hits
The second problem, is that these six songs have been filmed live and recorded live to the enth degree…there was precious little to be gained by capturing them again. I must conceded though, that the six songs are a double edged sword – they’ve been sang, filmed, and played into the ground…but if The Rolling Stones don’t play them, it’s just not a real Rolling Stones show
My own giddiness as a Stones/Scorsese fan aside, the film is well worth seeing – and indeed, well worth the money spent to see it on an IMAX screen. When an event is mapped out and captured with this sort of quality and attention to detail, it’s important to experience it the way it was intended. There are audio and visual nuances that will get lost in the home theatre. The movie is for people who want to see amazing footage. People who want to hear some great rock, soul, rhythm & blues
And of course for music and movie geeks like me.